INDIANAPOLIS - Olympic race walkers and journalists Elliott Denman of West Long Branch, N.J., and Jack Mortland of Columbus, Ohio, have been named recipients of the Ken Doherty Memorial Fellowship for 2003.

Named for former decathlon champion, coach, track & field meet director and writer Ken Doherty, the fellowship is given annually by USA Track & Field and the Amateur Athletic Foundation to provide researchers with the time and resources to pursue the serious study of track and field, and to honor the man after whom it is named.

Denman and Mortland will research and write a two-volume project detailing the history of American race walking. Volume one will focus on the great American athletes, coaches, officials and event organizers who have been prominent in race walking, as well as examining milestone events and other important aspects of the sport. Volume two will contain detailed summaries and stories of the USA national championship race walking events held over the years.

The 1959 U.S. race walking champion at 3,000 meters and 50 km, Denman was a member of the 1956 Olympic Team, placing 11th in the 50 km race walk on the Olympic stage. He was awarded the Track & Field Writers of America’s Jesse Abramson Award as U.S. track and field writer of the year in 1983 and 1991, has worked as a sports writer for several newspapers, and currently is a free-lance writer for publications such as the New York Times, Boston Globe, and Baltimore Sun.

Mortland was the U.S. 15 km race walk champion in 1965, and he won the national 30 km title in 1962. He was a member of the 1964 Olympic Team, placing 17th in the 20 km race walk. For more than 38 years has been publisher of The Ohio Racewalker, considered by many to be America’s national race walking magazine.

The Doherty Fellowship will help defray the fellows’ travel costs to and from Los Angeles to use the National Track & Field Research Collection, plus food, lodging and transportation costs in Los Angeles. Denman and Mortland will be provided workspace at the Amateur Athletic Foundation Sports Library; reference assistance; full use of the National Track & Field Research Collection and related library collections; plus computer, Internet, commercial database and photocopier access.